History of the southern Luo, Volume 1: migration and settlement xd07gs856

Citation preview

Peoples of East Africa

HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO VOL. 1 MIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT 1500—1900

BLANK PAGE

BLANK PAGE

ee re eSSse .Lathe Ea eae ‘ a.ee > v.?*en he ee ee oe ee ee .Sets a‘ ? ce Sneee Oe Be a, ee ee ee See en Se Se ee PUR ee ta Ei ce as aaa Se eee Seo rr Sehr opanne ee.=—=—hmh—é—i "*tana,

* : @ a | *, ¥ ‘.6

al

¢ ®y K% Ae :3s* w38? 48 LUO

Ros 2 . ne Lake | |

SIT TIT TTT Ly be »

o* Ow

Ss : v \ £ ACHOLI A. wR Fm * i ° " Rudolf

Zw se *. cei @

Lake Albert Ly ae esd tat

on *% 3»\oF weTews " st ") *,s

WY YORY }" PADHOLA

a cata cSsomee ly ¥ 1. + C:

=

x) ~ % : > , .°|-«ee { ° = * Y — ‘ 3 oe 3 *, Cc \| o. L é:/8} ad>:‘\x,*J,* aveers 4: 3 ‘ vo = : ; | : . i n ~ ~ 5 / : 5 tos, z ee) Oo Zz- 3f ed:=e7 d |$3‘ 2PeN: °4,0 { «; Qe 2 * ©

2:|| ~“ ; 7 |A , y a ip (|yf : ‘ | : oe , : 3 1 f° “ : , : ! ” ,yf : 7 ,2:) =® ru ! | : ff , : |3 |Le % : : | . -: ~ -

hae Sze : Rock os SS ‘4

4 ere aS: p ae ; oY 3 : ie . eae oe aos aehoe _Es ome a“has Set titted tee-eaten ae : RRR. sora Ses Jaaspo se aSRS. 2RBed OS .OE we FES = SE: CARER eetSeen eee 2=eee so “¥ BRE rene -ee. . RE ee age teeny: ees SERS SC eee Se EE “ep Bggs See PAG SESS ses. Rotana tee Rote = OSE Sas Sa Bae SES oN SNES Se ee “SSG “ . : : SRR SR San. tee s oS SB. RR a Pad he ee a |S PSE Tighe a sd coe a Saas a ne SBE . co a aS ae SOAR BB senso a Coe x i Ee See S ee oo Sd Gail: aR Eee SEES, Se . ? ee. Kee sees : Be og REIS REE Doreen i ce Rar oa DL oonFE US -cameron -4aeSe . GaBESS we “eeeTa Sak eee Sete oox3 SESS RSS WR io a Gace eg eo a Sas Sg BR Be ES . nd BS TER OP Fs a ee aS En _ RES aS “ae 4 Oe ES. une, HERE IRE we. oo aRR ec re fa ae EER UE EE SRE Bee Ee ese -% See i. ge SE RF. as a ts TE ae TER ste Se =o RS RS oy Basted *>» Z JER. Benen- :SR ES. ag. ee &.Bs *y. SERENE MRE oa) MRRESE STSee, SS SR osWek eSa-.ee Sis ON aer“ey *, its hea . fe SS Poa- eet “ag weet caer Rann BEE eee eusaatanannsiec:. ere he ate 4 Seeieee we ou: De Ie eee Oe Be ooTse HE SHER SUR Reg See .eee -.SRP. ESE a eS EB . ey %™se Sasesc Peet ane , EI OS Lee EE Phe nS, Ee, co =.=+;: x iMOPS ‘Mie: wh DEE AE LE age Bs eae ee ee ie StS Reese * = ee , Bs oan: an cae soe as Beer lala eo eRe Re Bee . oe SE eS Bee a is ee RS, a Y Sz: wees . SST See ee CE _ae

Be 2: Be ae pe arae =2Be eee “ae :cs soe oe oes ene, S2- :72a.os ase. ES -Pe Seer” Sees ee ies coe Sj Se OE ne TE REBELS Bes Bee Skee ee eeke. th 2See on— me RRR EE. os a = es Bee Ree a . s se OB Sagts ne _Be uae ee FP ge: Pe ae % =3 Sp RE a ae 8 ~F aes ee ee Serer oe *aiege.a ede ee eo a “Et 5 RS: HME. ies oo “eRe aE ed : ded . TS ah we ott wee, :;FORRES 70 7 Tee sen RS” Le te a en : Re ee oS. Tae ats co Pa Pc ge SE See ok ee & . » a ® wo gg ose X caeae o / = oe ea [ee Se Sea = 5 AES 5 2, Se Bas rterapemene Se gee ase a9G & _:ES 7% o *ae akRE EB Oe Se od : ee a aes ag a EN es ye SR ee; Ee Ses a = ao oe 4 ° en ;po RE ge Hoe, = = eee % ane’, Peck ete ES . cae = Be en é ae ° Se x oe we wa 7 COURSES eo a 2 . a. a0 Ree . ‘ ay = Sie g CEERI: E+ . Fe ok me Be a a Ps Loe ie OER Th eis 7 : Se. Ps Sa ea, ny ei: 1, BEUCURE OU RRR CARS Sea. Sx on7 eo BE |e B¢8 BoP. Bike JER OER ° SEE tes Ro Tae SORE wae. SERS *~Ree eg ocd ae ae ° aes ae . = Soe = Bt ee " Bae RR boone ak . Be eo 3S Re Be = Se q1 “Se ea : pS Ee ae ;EEF 2 aRexos me cee es. ———— Se ‘ xe. res Ia Bek Re>"iaS 3ies ce SHS “SySeaORE Se: :an7Bee oes anSRE Fete LE giBES oowt

er a : ee ae cd Se a : < a

i ats, ERO Ra aes ws! ly ee +, _ 2es.SR REn aSESR ., ae. Se Sas OP ee ER aSEaSeeae ERs ac Es S>at. Oo oe ge eer ’—— oS Rol feCER RS =Fx Se Bee CG, . Ree 3ee 5&ee ee: __ Se ae O84 ond OES OR 2. et, i REE SSeS 7aBs =Th Tih %. Oh BREE eT =Bee Pe Bs ok pa SE Se aee Rage eeRESET, cos Boa a BRE SBE .oh =ae See ee ae aS ee ee oa.Se. Ee a*Beers 7 AES et i ad See = Bsa a oe "RS ° SE eee 27 GR oo RES LSS SES ae een : cA ASR Ae MRR ee eeBe tidFEL 3BSES CEL EE =eee oeEeee aSEos Lge Sk Se (Ee al og - Peace EN oy 33 eee Recon . RE a ae OO ah. aZ fy Be OSE ee eeARES Be ee ee ae TO se oe - .Son Seg eee eee _fo es eS pn ae Bo re’ 222 : Ss #5) isES: CARES eon Te 2 ee Bee BE a . See OF Ge SE SS . 8 oe |:eee SPR SEES ee — Ee ae . Ss: = Sites TE Ea OB RR oH UC 3p gee ee eee ee 23 cc a a eS ae “ se SE Ae 2. Sel ~ eS ose Ed se See re ee oR “the ke E Ea 33 Bran acne = SSE eg Baa he ZB Bos a 4 Ske SE eee. oo SEE neces BS 8 EC Fa Pee eee aR a Ree. Eee Soe Eg EEE EE OS ee. : ee Bees Ber RR Noone een. en — .SEEEEs Cea OS Soe ‘ s Sr Seen aS ED BOSSE A. ee ois onal Be Sab Pe "4 MESSE ee OE Je eee * = . a PRR S o OR S, Se a SSS: a See SS "le os ~ 2 ee ws. ee hs oe PRES . con Se OSS Te gree CRE ., Sere Soares eet Ae See oe Se SP Ed Rose Say te, i Lede a Sites a .a SRESERESS ae pen Re ae eee Bore Se, Sarees BF PORE watt Ft oie get SP ~ Tee: oy, gE SS EEE eSsee, -- SE See. Were de EE 2h, SE eg ee oy EE. Se 2-&BR te ee Soc ae . Se ee =e.Tah, .5,cee FP EESoe Sie |Be Bee SE SS SESE co~ORR aSS 5SO Re eeeR Set so Se ee SERRE TE, SE. aS ES hE Ream Renee oct See is AS OURS AO hp cs. oe ee SS Pee ee Bas Nal Se. ~— SBR ERE eee SAAS tea OR RSS mone aaa an ea SE 7Sass OSeeSaeed oO Sees Sais EEE, 2 a2 Ee *SeeS iS. "BRS ea ee Sane SR ches a Ree Ree 3 Lee Sahn ae ee POS B od ee Boi ees Pe ae =ae-remo Bass ok (cee Se ee Le Sie Paks ae vee: Se Pipe ”Sree Sas _Honig Se es - See ELSE See RUS Re i,, eee meee Cortona SRNR se aes Sie “hn eos Sona aSe eeBe ees=“ SRS a 1 eS: eos oe ee Et“f2.7 aeeee > Spee . Ree Rese P| Se =Sa Eee ee See Soa eee eon Bo ES oa SRSSecs eeseR SEER Boos*Re ROSSER Se RE, ee Si 9Aoe Bees Se oe See enaeRe SESS RES poses oe eeBe |. £2 EcOS EOI

et ee Bes ee Pe Se - oe Re ee ee io Sane

ree .SEE Bee Fe SIE Sa a ie--EcSee .Se ee ee . Bea Pa |7 aea eee ae Reem Sens ny, ESE as ‘a Sere aane ee iaoa aera sis ae : : .‘ Be en ee See SERRE SSSR ORE rmoe SE oF-pe Sse Ey WOES :ae. =: Bs oR ea eae me ens oes Beh ae EN ae EP RY BE eee Ree ERR see Se Bees get SSRs * a RR RE ER mee | Eo -7 Sa Boe Eg -4 Sans SS Oe 2 oe Se: Ses ae ESE imu. RE “3 SSS S&S , ES. . =BBE Be aaee Py, SReReeee PRE hn ueenregieeee Brpncennce swanaoe Seer. Boone Ec Pee BESS ee aRae nieRE FSBrccho eben ne 4eeTNS Ti aieigsiesseis eee Sn EEE - ;er rr bas esSe So oon oaae we . ie Ge ase “SRE Ee) ee -oe “4 :agaeEP ”SES. Ee ger nt Se BS EERIE eeAER OF RES ee eee Pee Se = oo Rw RE Bs + eae es Rais ae LSE praptemeten tees = Fr 2 > Pe oe oS Ss See RR Sein pesuuhmeugete a Sees eee Es Sere = FLEE . 6 oss ie BR en Picco, a ae ae SERS Serres * ° pe” ‘ Bed ee F::;;: ShSE” SREB SSO See. . .— - ROE . - ER ‘ ESee.2 oe ORE Ss RepRie Oe |SS SS ee weitiin, So..aks EE.

'aosea =ae oe eee or BF ee ; eg FOE £0ne rs aes STG eS >ae Se as.> -a-3. + EP ORR oa odes po ;:rree aTE oa ’ SASS i a . ze 2. a =aoe es ,FBy UES OES pose . . es... ee go # ike oR . Roe Paes an 23 ORE cana cad Ee Sera eee 28 = BOY ns Te . 2 “a2v x::.: Peg RES, See 2 _ | « . EF Pas 5 ESN aaa hy, we Se UBF ee see it the coe. aE * + SESE RI ead “Sashes... oR ee =_ SEE. Sosa BRSoCe Ete. ge . o ; Sie Rees Set Ss, 37 ~ ee > Tppgepameebiet coors. wee ee ee TE om es = . TEER Soe ES _ . Seis Sree . Se ee ee eS Bee Fs Pat Ss os nt : . . . » . ea SS Py & sath ge : ee . ‘ yore . . . . .’IRR Oe a ky ath ‘ 7 5 . oa . 4 4 on ‘Hh AB a SEE IO IE na . > ca ‘ . Ee” EERE Soe OR ’ 1 * : | ee. VE Bora a ee & . > ¥ ‘ ‘. Hh, RRS Se Er : ‘ are . Pe ar RE ee OB B , SE ee ae Ste NN Res “3 ¥ : ‘os “ SR RAR a gg Pe dae Seon , nF Pe . co : . ~We: 4 . 4Eee a ss eeSAE JE:F eg Beeke . rs ° Sa, SEA. On,To a RR RNeo iy Tee |Be , eee, SeSMA oweo fsege eSBe ORIENT, Sita, EBae

©. RE ee, ES cee Shee SER RR ge ee cs Saas BS GP, “ENORE See SL t 5*Fy 4 \so. ee ABE Saha eS ca RC 2EERO ee neg SP eg eeSOT ee ee % so S. oe 400 SRE EL CGS EE RR a he gin aries cea a = . x » Soles. Me ee ee ER RE ORC ES MRR oe OS . see's hy ' ~ rr a m4 eo bee. EPL SEES URS EEE PR ee ee ees SS =. oa ' r ~ , ‘ gz * . . oan a pate ee ST CAIMET ED ee D ies SE iy it SRR «Ie OR OT EN MERH SS ESSN MRE? Nhe RDO sRRNCD MS SSRT ‘" . o > + i* Sareea 2 ca NS an“ood SOE co RA SSE ne pce RRS AES+ee RES SOE SMe zepth. Bd .otk yeas: aSepeg PUSS EE ORS Bs DRESSES CAS: “+.Fee Re - so :iain EE ye OE SO ES ER RES TREC ERE SEO Roseanne sigeRe BS ™ Bet ean a oma fee age . SCE MMR ORY OSRR SOESE ESRC CMON eh SESS Ps ¥ : Are BetShe. oReRe : hy, SRM on aSC cn:2Se RRos Saat SS SES aang on, on CREE. . ot 7 me €‘S49 Beco Perwhee. eee .

ee ee a eeee le ae eeee oeee ee ee i,Ne ae ee ae“ape tig, et: . ae oe oc ee no ARE PRRReae Leeaegy EYSegg oSa oe ceaegSERS gO ESSOP ee EE Cu a “lege BLES | GER ee oS ee eee Re ae ah SAE “PUREE PJs Lg Ree ee ae OR eee oo ety, og RE So ee RE Be ii Ree : tn gta FR Sh. BE. oh, tga ne eepcics

pacaaeaes oct ORSsrs RRR ae eezeeeSuen eg legit RS CaS Me SESE Meteo Sh ” es a SR ss MM eS ning SE ROMER Re OR ceeoy SOE SEESSE Bee a eaeBS 2 SBS PaBOR SE eaSeBY Ss aha, RRS SEES oe EEEci ReeaKR ea a EI Dos aca

ee SES RS0 SSSR URS es TUSSINEE eesSEE ie SER ReaS HERR Eeeinto ett gr nits Ree ae TR ba ,: . IeMo Si nh hs LUSSIER SEE Ee Boley Rie 0 SEES Pf "shegetin os 2 . oe ESPSRC Tn oi SE ope SRR BBNEE a t oy

WEES SR RS SR PgR ER Se DE cae oa ee, “OMRESSS TS TOES a AR See Sa CSREES oe aRaa Ogan ee ce m 1 OSM SOE RO,Bee SRR ee RRRae REBo ce ORR eee Fet, :a

eeaota2ee TRL OgUR PUR eyOMMEE coh aig | aeiileee See ReAMMEN ee Be.anER eS RRSOR ge SO EN ok. BRS ge SeRR PRS RR SORA * SSGR «eR aa OREa Ss OS RS 7

eTee a Re a nn EE gots RP ag tee! reasi: esRMS Saks Us LS,RRR ees SER Oc ORM ESSo oR: ee eneLSE EeeNR, RES 5a TREES ER GRE dhOES. es aSEER aa rnd.ns, a aae Sack an eRe RRR Ne!tag RMI CLL ae Qk Se GEES” ERR teCRE Sa ORR Oe, hhes Renton aeIRR RR SERS SSa:oi cr RR gSOE SetALES SOP 9oPggBee cePR SORES, Re EES ESTpeee aaRons Pe ae ee saeoN, SOS SSE, ORRRR aRBU ESS can. REESE CORR Rs ESTES SBE Se aes SEES SR SORRBR Sea eeEOE FRC ee UN CREE ao RESET ERE SARE, nag 2 ge F AERP EO eg ca “ad EER ace sass & geste eat oe ERE MC Rm gE ESSE BOW OE Se TEMES SSI oe eh LES | gece eR ree oO as 5 SRR SER OEE, SCORE COMERS SioeUN

Beko PEs neRa oNOR ERESe wee “hy 1 TERR eee Py og ce sa Ser i. RE:eeES. Reece ER neSRO, Peer SekieeOS dg te deErie Se MRO aSAE oe age Re eSSRE : RS ig ge Se: ae PeSONRI came ae Sages ke See .ay»atte SLES cs HED : ik ie ee ER SOS Sigins ‘i pas tae ESE . EEE 1 age ESEOR TOOMREY . ges ge TSE TERE SRR RR Keane os sae salar ath SERS 2 SORRY ONTtg Oeee SR TOUR ah on Te 2piers Sao RS “ ode hyeaeSis Ee tae TE ERT eeonseonRNR Pee oe Baa Sea Posty Saeae PeRROD Beaed Se Se geet

eee cee an feb OES, wee OSI nos SESE SSCA, “RS. Cae gigi ten, TRE SSS MMR IRR RRR agian roca eaaeg tier ea ees Sate eeciocagine eat gee Seapets SR REISS eas

eet | OSE oy OEE so SS eeLer uM, a aESE. RE a sR ge SOO, GU a.Sos, RRR TS gis Fn Bo abe wee AREER ESS Rscs Se ee am RMR eRaREARS a aeawe eeRRS eeME ee eeEe SOURED nadURE com Pascoe ee aLed ELee Ate COE RTE ST RC eRe IE RRO a oeered Sy RRR RS AT nase oeae aLeon BEL: *oO, aoc. otnop et,OL coca NSE Te cea. TDC Boe nS SeSRR ERE ee eas Reinert SRIRAM “eo oe . “apts eee ooOB ke . as : . oss Nigar eseee Sraoat RaBe RE:Re SISBee RINSE SS RES SeeeR mcaBSS Se Ree RRB eSaao Siac eet. Poy CFR : “EE pean Cats OME ear amg ce RR Os CORO 2 ¥ Sarees a: nm Pe!LE iS TORE Ol Bete LO hada, “ag BBS RR oI aa ce aRCCN SRS eae ae BS Se ae eee oa inst BARS EP Tas a ee Spe eR RR gh ce So a Se OR ee ORO." 2 ORR ROS RR Sn ce CRE SEE ah oles oswsLE fe ar Ee Pe weoeeT he °cod CSREES Cya ot Boge EE 2: See eaeSoe eeeee35 Re ee7 poe gee tt EE te TE. Coes Sheet ceae* Seu Th oe OBE SEE °et“SK Bre ee BSpa BaNRA Be -aeape we cee -cs acta _accteeteeaieet we :seOE ERED eagle CSL : | RR Re an a ss Ree a ee ROR RE Pa SEE EE: eRe cana 9 SERS gage Naa “CSREES! SRSBECO cae a i eae eeeoe ageRO, RRRSo, SO ee Be x yg eo :OSS Send OT LOREEN ; eg 0 SRE sect aOS. IN, 2 ae aROSa SSR Mant tg ° BePt Une“oS ee “ a: Sne eeES spitRies ecsccces iBR SS EE SESeeaeaa a Bion Mnher Reeeee aneaERE ke mE cnc ERR seaSS Eee r ry . :oe : a wht : :Ki. Seni, 2 RRS Bio, 5 SNR eaten (te Sig ae PIE oR Seager Bars ee ee Be. wy ONEER ,asta, Pare meas, ae a FsSS pes FB aS Sesh : Se aeae . oa: oe2g OCR. anBS Q bare oh ae” 8 OF age eS oe 9 38 ates oe a wee a. eee gs fg — . Tes og EE ayee i eae — :ee tee#*Fy fs i Weg eRe .errs » A : fon Fs see: aes 0 =, >PE - Gs‘aon a ae “se sae FSfee . BREE oreayo if vf 7BP . a me

OJees. #eg ge 3* -Fg aPoo te aeBS EO, Pewe aae%, Sgt eAeae an.=3fee - arOe < 3 .aeaes 2B es, 2fe4oe sswee fe gh ofaka ies Pe ga %we ;¥a82. wad RE BO “ae 2S" . ,oe ;a Ce} ee eo: eB, * ge fte#g Ae oe aeg: “os esse Be es eeeS 3apeace ba cone re Png 7 _ CS Ne, OH Sy gS ; are a a: ang ie es we os © a Se, Ff‘ ee 4 ake ee.Be * ey RY pe Peg> A ee Oy ° yO«4, aoea*oe3 *¢ ene. ce Doge SERON ce oiekeBe, Legg ge Be Pe:Co vOho — 0poRee Boe aSovor Sed ca ae ae ae Betx:24g ee .' ,ge - et 4' a-, #. ,*.. Bole . teeee. 2oN ye ee> Soy. Rog % es a en aast : ~SS ° ge. =| aw ip,“hcs cn asfe Be | . * Bs cen Fs Esti Ce iy sag IRE, ba - .ent % Fe

9O ME oaoeeyoo, he.(eys ae ae vo < oo LON ee fo ies fioCees $M, nr

oe 7s eye Ce eBeS eee£wo ON eh Beg an1s ae: °° £6 See OEE es:So ~ Re 3neas5ra xcara BO a 3te «BIRR a Se °aiSee Teee Seg 2— sgets aes rn“ygis BeME igoec 3 sae EE -a, :.‘.: ani Fite & Ae™ ae° cd “sg oa oes + ey es ae BS ¢ahe a3 (e) a : Beg gs iS ee Bes or eee * wpe Be aa re 4° yi? . oy fe a x a. -pa) eHMet ny SA oyaw ieeee aps “efemig La wo, ae,gg an ea&* $eae ae . Sm ge Ngee oF &wit ‘ter eSgt de ey oF ge “hey & ae Oe Se Bar gs eS % Pear) :5& Re Bag seme "og ae gfatvnwee Be Ae ee ae7eae 7Be ot. soee i ae ey, ioie Te eBE Pes °OT ry>a “ans isaw *. ° EE ye .we ~ Ye aS “Be , ayet oe ;Poa onre a“gS 2se enoy pare‘a. gore aw ,‘: °: : Beg i eS we Oe peo aee ae er wa wf. ge rs eee i 3 Pa f re Be ths ee eae, ae ee Ls *eo pod era sagt ety 3 & x Sg ey F Cote git one _* ae hes Broom fy YT ge 5Big ra oR Meg” eRe FSER Meekoe me22, F, heey See ai %.%~~gee & -4- ,a~ene 5..ee* 7 Fog 40% te2ee ee. etike: Hae ba ® Fame co” & bee 2 . ee ” & ee me Ve a old . 7 a: ae a oe > Baga ‘sage ha 4 cca vfs be oa! rd Se eo?ee =e.fepeFe FFFO BPEog PPge ote“gee Be eeSy ce aPF gage ee > gt: : of TF. fee eS . gE? & eo bog PER gee & a an ae hh exes ps BE ee oe eg

roera. i? , F¥. oe$xwo * agTR ee Be. awry6faNoll - Peiggewe ¥ Sots 3 # a“ Boge, Pe : eaeme woe a - Le 2 Re ,$ Se Pa gt Reo aeeeBt” * -oe- Y aod

CeaweA aroe ener . ffwe Reo Lo Fs ‘w }4 aax. eS CN |gant Sa ame! ue a+Pr ,°ah avie res BeBe ga eo wh RP ye eerie eeDr eS 7eer = aFS eae 8sin eo ek ee PsiCe rn olf yoke 5Peers a“ag Poa ar rh Le wey Re? ”ee eS Se, eeON ae#ao 3, ye5 a7 soe oR + Se

eo ee GER 3 ow "- iww Se ae eee ye ae $d ad Sh Be & eet

The Environment 129 destiny was played out. But in this study we shall not attempt a detailed treatment of the geographical factors which might have shaped Luo history.* Rather we shall content ourselves with

a much more modest aim: to portray the geographical setting against which the history of the migration and settlement of the Luo in the lake basin should be discussed. The Luo, as we have said, live in the Central and South Nyanza districts of the Nyanza Province. Their area lies astride the Equator and around the Kavirondo Gulf; and it is bounded _ on the west by Lake Victoria, whose altitude is 3726 feet above sea-level and which stretches from about 4° North to 3° South, covering a distance of about one hundred and sixty miles. To the north of the Gulf, they occupy an area of rolling landscape rising from about 4000 feet near the lake to approximately 6000 feet at the foot of the Nandi escarpment. This is what the geologists call pre-Miocene peneplain. It is drained by four large rivers: Malawa, Sio, Nzoia and Yala whose valleys, together with the lakeshore, seem to have played a dominant role in the deter-

mination of Luo migration routes and the areas of early

settlement. Sir William Garstin, writing in 1909, described this northeastern corner of Lake Victoria as “flat and bare, with but little bush and a few trees, and stretches, a wide tableland, to the foot of the Nandi Hills.”5 It was into the western portion of

Uganda moved. |

this wide tableland that the first wave of Luo migrants from

south of the Gulf, we have first the pre-Miocene plateau region of Karachuonyo and Kabondo from which several Luo groups migrated round the Gulf back to Central Nyanza. 4. For a fuller discussion of the geography of the area, see Kent, P. E.: (1942), ‘The Country around the Kavirondo Gulf of Victoria Nyanza’, Geographical Journal, Vol. C pp. 22-31. Pulfrey, W.: (1944), ‘Note on the Homa Bay area, Kavirondo, Kenya,’ Abstracts of Proceedings of Geological Society, London, Mo. 1406. Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners (1956): Kenya Nile Water Resources Survey 1954-1956, London. Ominde, S. H. (1963): ‘Land and Population in the Western Districts of Nyanza Province, Kenya,’ unpublished Ph. D. Thesis, London University.

5. Garstin, Sir William: ‘Fifty Years of Nile Exploration and Some of Its Results’, Geographical Journal, Vol. 33, 1909, p. 117.

9 Ogot, Luo

130 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO Then we have the Kuja basin which forms an area of gently rolling hills, and is a well-populated region, sloping westwards from the Kanyamkago Hills and down the dip-slope from the Kanyamwa escarpment on the eastern side of the Lambwe Valley to the Kuja river. This is the largest river in South Nyanza, and

it drains along a sinuous course from the Kisii highlands to Lake Victoria near Karungu. The Kuja has numerous tributaries, many of which are permanent or semi-permanent. It was to this basin that the Joka-Jok (Karungu, Kadem, Kabuoch, Kanyamwa) came after they had separated from their kinsfolk in the vicinity of Homa Bay. They expelled the Kuria and other groups from the area, the latter moving away to Tanzania.® In the southeastern corner of the area are the Kanyamkago Hills—ranges of rounded hills—which rise to a height greater

than 5000 feet in many places. The hills lie between the Sare and Migori Rivers.

Moving westwards, we find the extensive and flat-floored Lambwe Valley. This is formed by the westerly continuation of

the Kavirondo fault-trough and lies between the Kanyamwa scarp and the Gwasi Hills. Prior to the arrival of the Huropeans, the valley was completely depopulated, probably due to sleepingsickness.

To the west of the Lambwe Valley are the Gwasi Hills which rise to 7000 feet above sea-level. The slopes are steep, traversed

by numerous gullies, and in part forested. Permanent streams are lacking; and only the narrow coastal strip is populated, near to the water supply provided by the lake. Between the northern part of Lambwe Valley and Homa Bay are the Ruri Hills, comprising two major hills and several conical eminences. The two main features, North and South Ruri, stand approximately 5300 and 5596 feet above sea-level respectively.

They feature prominently in the migration literature on the movement from Central to South Nyanza. Lastly, we have the islands of Rusinga and Mfang’ano, which are comparatively densely populated. But owing to the rocky

6. See pp. 206-207 below.

The Environment 13] nature of the terrain, the island people (Jo-Chula) are little more than self-supporting. Ecologically the Luo areas in both Central and South Nyanza may, broadly speaking, be divided into two zones, which have

significant historical implications: the high rainfall zone, and

the savannah zone of the lake shore. North of the Gulf, the

former zone includes Buholo, Gem, North Seme, North Ugenya and Kisumu. Coffee, bananas and high yields of maize make these areas distinct from the rest of Central Nyanza. In South Nyanza, the zone embraces the eastern locations of Karachuonyo and Kabondo, which border on the fertile Kisii highlands. The second ecological zone, the lakeshore savannah coincides with the lakeshore area, and much of the hinterland for distances of about fifteen miles or more, on either side of the Gulf. It has a lower and less reliable rainfall. And whereas the higher altitude areas (that is, the first zone) receive a definite double-maxima, thereby enabling double-cropping to be widely practised, the

rainfall pattern in the lakeshore region permits, as a general rule, the production of only one crop a year. The researches of Professor S. H. Ominde’ have demons-

trated clearly that there is a close correlation between the population regions and the rainfall patterns in the area. The correlation shows generally high densities in the high rainfall savannah zone — as high as 600 persons per square mile, with

lower densities in the lakeshore areas (as low as 38 to 83 persons per square mile in Kaksingri and Kasigunga respectively). What is important from the historian’s viewpoint is that it was these lakeshore zones which formed the areas of Luo primary

settlement in both Central and South Nyanza, because they closely resembled their original habitat in Sudan. It was only later, about four to five generations back, that they started to move to the high rainfall regions, which are more suitable for agriculture than pastoralism. On the other hand, it is important to remember that although the lakeshore areas are today dry with a high incidence of disease, 7. op. cit., see page 129 above. ge

132 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO especially malaria and sleeping-sickness, this may not always have been the case. It has been suggested, for example, that the climax vegetation over the heavy clay lands, particularly over the Kano plains, was dominated by Acacia seyal, Acacia campylacantha, Acacia drepanolobium and Acacia fistulla spp. and that it was intensive use by man that reduced the original wood-

lands to small patches. Sir Harry Johnston was even more definite about this point. Writing in 1902, he said: The whole of Kavirondo (i.e. Nyanza) was once covered

with dense forest of a rather West African character, but

trees are now scarcely ever seen, except in the river valleys. The people would hew down all the trees they could fell, and burn the branches and trunks, mixing the ashes with the soil manure... After the land had borne two or three good crops, it was abandoned and a fresh piece opened up.9 Also, the work of Morris has shown that sleeping-sickness only arrived in the area at the beginning of this century.!° Hence the environment in which the Luo today live along the lakeshore

may be quite different in several important respects from the environment in which they originally settled. A subject which would pay huge historical dividends, for example, is the extent to which the presence or absence of trypanosomiasis influenced the Nilotic migration routes, settlements and destinies. At present sleeping-sickness is in various degrees

of intensity in most Luo areas. During this century the disease has considerably influenced the movements and mode of existence of the Luo in such areas as the islands of Lake Victoria, the KujaMigori rivers system, the Lambwe Valley and the location of Kadimo in Central Nyanza. Even if we regard this as a new pheno-

menon, we still have to find out whether the migration routes and settlements of the Luo—who were pastoralists—did not all lie within fly-free corridors. This important question of how far the tsetse fly has influenced African history has recently been 8. Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners (1956), op. cit. 9. Johnston, H.H.: Uganda Protectorate, Vol. II, (1902), p. 738.

10. Morris, K. R. S. (1960): ‘Studies on the epidemiology of sleeping-sick-

ness in East Africa’ Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 54, No. 1, 71-86.

The Environment 133 discussed in a comprehensive paper by Frank L. Lambrecht.¥ On the question of migration routes of the pastoralists he concludes:

Fly-belts have more effectively restricted movements of

pastoralists than of non-pastoralists. Cattle owners must have realized at an early stage that their herds would face heavy losses when travelling through Glossina zones. To avoid this, caravans began to follow the same routes through

fly-free corridors... Fly-free grasslands became favourite

stopping-places and the site of permanent settlements. In this

way, the movement and the areas occupied by these early: pastoral tribes may give us a realistic pattern of fly-free areas during these times.!2 (Italics mine.)

Before we conclude this chapter, let us briefly consider an aspect of the Luo environment which is of vital importance if we are to gain a proper historical perspective of our topic, viz. the relation of Nyanza vis-a-vis Uganda and Kenya. In virtue of its position, the Nyanza region forms an important historical and geographical link between Uganda and Kenya. Considered in the historical framework of East Africa, this link is not of recent origin. L. S. B. Leakey and the late Archdeacon Owen of Nyanza,

writing in 1945, emphasized the ancient nature of this link in the , following way:

Although politically the Nyanza Province belongs to

Kenya Colony, rather than to the Uganda Protectorate, all the links, both in the Stone Age and among the present-day native tribes, are with Uganda rather than with the rest of Kenya.}8 Archaeology has thus an extremely important bearing on the environment in which the Luo society evolved, although so far it has contributed little direct evidence relative to the history of

the people. What is important to emphasize here is that the modern history of the Nyanza region may be described as a con11. Lambrecht, F. L.: ‘Aspects of Evolution and Ecology of tsetse flies and

trypanosomiasis in Prehistoric African Environment’, Journal of

African History, Vol. V, No. 1, 1964, pp. 1-24. 12. Lambrecht, ibid., pp. 15-16.

13. Leakey, L. S. B. & Owen, W. E.: ‘A Contribution to the Study of the

Tumbian Culture in East Africa’, Coryndon Museum Occasional Papers. No. 1, March, 1945, p. 7.

134 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO scious and deliberate effort by the colonial administrators to reverse what had been the order of events since the Stone Age. And in this they have been successful, so that today, the estrangement of the Nyanza region from Uganda which started in 1902

when the area was transferred to Kenya, is almost total. In particular, the Kenya Luo today feel they have more in common

with the Bantu Gusii and Kikuyu than with their kinfolk, the Padhola and Acholi in Uganda.

CHAPTER 2

THE FIRST LUO SETTLERS IN NYANZA The pre-Luo inhabitants (a) Prehistoric times Unlike Padhola territory,! the Nyanza region has been inhabited since the early Stone Age.? Various deposits, especially those found by Owen at several sites in modern Alego-Ng’iya, Baragulu, Mur, Bar Udida and Mbeji — belong to the culture which the prehistorians used to call Tumbian, but which since 1947 has been termed Sangoan. Most of these occupation sites have been found along the valleys of Rivers Yala and Nzoia. It therefore follows that the Sangoan folk lived in these valleys. We also have evidence that these valleys were occupied during the Iron Age.* Not only are most of the sites, such as Urewe, Ng’iya, Huludhi, Aluala Valley, Mbeji and Yala Alego, which have yielded dimple-based pottery, situated in river valleys; the majority have been found in Alego. In some of the sites, iron

objects have been found associated with dimple-based pottery. Hence, this group of pottery belongs to the Iron Age. But several other sites in East and Central Africa have yielded dimple-based pottery,* and even an anti-diffusionist would concede that they did not all originate independently. From the Nsongezi rock shelter in Uganda, a dimple-based layer has been 1. See Part 2, Chapter 2, p. 84 above. 2. Leakey and Owen, op. cit., pp. 7-11. 3. See Leakey, M. D., Owen, W. E. and Leakey, L. S. B.: ‘Dimple-based pottery from Central Kavirondo, Kenya Colony’, Coryndon Museum Occasional Papers, No. 2, May, 1948. 4, See Posnansky, M.: ‘Pottery types from archaeological sites in Eas? Africa’, Journal of African History, 1961, II (2), pp. 177-98.

136 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO dated to A.D. 1037+150.5 These dates suggest a culture flourishing about 1000 years ago.

To what group of people did the makers of the dimple-based

pottery belong? Nothing is as yet known about the physical characteristics of the dimple-based population. Posnansky has,

however, put forward the hypothesis that “the widespread nature of the ware (dimple-based ware) indicates rapid expansion from a common source followed by regional separation and development, perhaps connected with the expansion of the Bantuspeaking peoples’’.6

Be that as it may, the fact remains that these river valleys in Central Nyanza were occupied by iron-using folk sometime in

the 9th or 10th century A.D. It was also along the same river valleys that the Luo immigrants were to settle about five or six generations later. But between the arrival of modern populations

in Nyanza and the makers of dimple-based pottery, Central Nyanza seems to have been occupied by another pottery group, whose products are also quite unlike the pottery of the presentday inhabitants.’ In their migration from Uganda to Kenya, the Luo were therefore moving to a land whose river valleys at least had been tamed. Their arrival in the Nyanza basin was to hasten the process of human encroachment into the forest, which even-

tually resulted in the conversion of former forested areas to savannah lands.

(b) The Historical period

When did pre-history change into history in Nyanza? And when did the pre-Luo inhabitants of the area arrive there? These questions have hardly been tackled. Here we shall only attempt to establish the identity of the peoples who preceded the Luo in the region during historic times. 5. Posnansky, M.: op. cit., p. 185. 6. Posnansky (1961), ibid., p. 185. 7. Leakey and Owen (1948), op. cit., p. 43.

The First Luo Settlers in Nyanza 137 Owen,® Huntingford,? and Wagner!? have all suggested that the Bantu groups formerly extended over the undulating country between Lake Victoria and the Nandi escarpment. In the west, they linked up with the Bantu in Busoga. The Bantu, however,

retreated inland before the rising tide of the Luo invasion to occupy the higher and colder lands where they live today. !n the words of Wagner, the Bantu Kavirondo (the Luyia group ot tribes) had probably “settled in Central Kavirondo (along the gulf) as well as in the western part of North Kavirondo before the southward migration of the Nilotic Jaluo began. Under the pressure of the Luo migration, which drove a sort of wedge from the northwest (between Lake Kioga and Mt. Elgon) to the southeast, the Bantu advanced further into uninhabited North Kavirondo as well as across the gulf and through the Nyando Valley to South Kavirondo. After the southward migration of the Nilotic Jaluo had come to an end, further Bantu possibly migrated from Busoga in an easterly direction towards North Kavirondo (the Hayo, Marach and Holo). This assumption not only tallies with

the traditions of these three tribes, but it also explains why a group of Bantu tribes lives between the Nilotic Jaluo in Central Kavirondo and the Nilotic Japadhola (to the west of Tororo in the Budama District of the Eastern Province of Uganda).”!! Evans-Pritchard, on the other hand, writing in 1936, asserted

that “the whole of Luoland was once occupied by Bantu and Nilo-Hamitic tribes.’’!

It is quite evident from the above quotations that some Bantu and “Nilo-Hamitic” groups preceded the Luo in the lakeshore area. What is not clear, however, is which Bantu and “NiloHamitic” groups? The passages cited above convey the impression that the whole of the lakeshore area of Nyanza was occupied, prior to the arrival of the Luo, by the ancestors of the present 8. Owen, W. E.: ‘The Bantu of Kavirondo’, The Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, No. 45-46, pp. 68-69. 9. Huntingford, G. W.: The Eastern Tribes of the Bantu Kavirondo.

Nairobi, (1944), p. 5. 10. Wagner, G.: The Bantu of North Kavirondo, Vol. I (1949), pp. 25-26. 11. Wagner, G.: ibid., pp. 25-26. 12. Evans-Pritchard, F. E. ‘Luo Tribes and Clans’. The Rhodes-Livingstone Journal, No. VII, 1949, pp. 25-26.

138 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO Luyia peoples, who then withdrew almost wholesale inland. This, as can be seen even from the traditions recorded by Wagner,!8 is an over-simplification of the course of events. In an important paper on the Ethnography of Africa,\* Sir Harry Johnston postulated that the Bantu expanded westwards and southwards from a nucleus on the Nile-Congo watershed. This hypothesis has been questioned by both Guthrie! and Greenberg,!® and in this chapter we are not concerned with the “Bantu Genesis.” What is relevant to our discussion is Johnston’s further claim that a small group of Bantu peoples broke off from the main southern stream, and migrated to the Elgon area, where they regrouped. The Elgon region thus became a dispersal centre from which some Bantu groups set out on their migrations southward. This is what Johnston refers to as Migration No. 4 which, he asserts, is the parent of the Bantu Kavirondo (Luyia) and the

Kikuyu of the Kenya highlands. ,

There is as yet no oral evidence to support the theory that the Kikuyu moved to their present homes from the Elgon area. The traditional histories of the Baganda,!’ Basoga!® and Bagwe,!9 however, open with migrations from the region. The same is true of the traditional history of the Gusii.2° A large number of the seventeen Luyia tribes moved into modern western Kenya from eastern Uganda, that is, from the area between Mt. Elgon and Lake Victoria, where they appear to have been isolated for a considerable time. They appear to be among the most anciently 13. Wagner, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 20-30. 14. Johnston, H. H.: ‘A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1913, Vol. XLITI. pp. 375-421.

15. Guthrie, M.: ‘Some developments in the Prehistory of the Bantu Languages’ Journal of African History, Vol. III, 2, (1962), pp. 273282. 16. Greenberg, J. H.: ‘Africa as a Linguistic Area’, in Continuity and Change in African Culture (1959), Eds. W. R. Boscom and M. J. Herskovits, pp. 15-27.

17. Nsimbi, M. B.: Ammannya Amaganda n’Ennono Zaago, (1956), pp. 150-51. Kaggwa, A.: Basekabaka be Buganda (1901), pp. 2-3. 18. Te 0kO, Y. K.: A History of Busoga (English translation) 1960, pp. 19. Persse, E. M.: ‘The Bagwe’, Uganda Journal, Vol. 3, (1935-36), p. 282. 20. Prof. W. H. Whiteley—personal communication.

The First Luo Settlers in Nyanza 139 settled of Bantu peoples. While explanations of these early folk movements can only be tentative, if is reasonable to infer that

the Luyia-Gisu peoples represented the spearhead of Bantu migration into eastern Uganda. And while other Bantu groups moved away westwards and southwards from this focal point to found new polities, the Luyia and Gisu remained in the region for some time after these splinter moves. A closer scrutiny of the traditions of the Luyia reveals that these people, who had no group name until about 1947,74 immig-

rated into Nyanza, broadly speaking, in three distinct waves separated sometimes by hundreds of years. The earliest Bantu immigrants are said to have come in across Lake Victoria from Bunyoro and Congo, through Buganda.?? They are supposed to be

part of a much larger Bantu group that split into two sections somewhere in Buganda, one section occupying the islands of Si-

gulu, Jagusi, Siro, Lolui and Mageta, from where they later occupied Samia (Kenya), West Bunyala, and Kadimo, while the larger section moved overland to settle in southern Busoga at Ibanda. This theory emphasises the need for a more systematic study of the Bantu occupation of Uganda and eastern Congo than has been attempted hitherto. Much of the early history of the Luyia, for example, will remain guesswork until this work is

done. |

According to Osogo,*3 the southern group which came by boats

included the Ababubi, Abasiyemba, Abakhwana and Abamalenge

who settled on Sigulu Island; the Abamunje, Abamanzaba, Abamuswa, Abaini, Ababoko and Ababulu who occupied Mageta Island; and the Abalwani, Abakholo, Abatsipi, Abenge, Abalungo, Ababasi, Ababamba, Abakhweri, Abakhaala and Abalusere who settled in Yimbo at Igoye. 21. The name “Baluyia” was first adopted by the North Kavirondo Central Association in June 1935. The elders rejected the name, and it was only after the 2nd World War that it gained general

currency. 22. Osogo, J., History of the Baluyia, Oxford U. Press, 1966, pp. 28-30. 23. ibid., p. 30.

140 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO It would appear that the migration of the Luyia group that settled in southern Busoga to western Kenya took place about ten generations ago, and therefore c. 1652-1679.*4 Included in this

cluster were such well-known Luyia peoples as the Abafofoyo of Marach, Abakhayo, Abakhekke, Abamarama, Abatsotso, Abakabrasi, Abanyole, Abatirichi and Maragoli.2> The majority of these people occupied their present homes from the present Luo district of Central Nyanza. The second big group of the Luyia peoples arrived at the beginning of the 18th century.2* They came overland and settled in what is today Elgon Nyanza. The best representative of this group are the Vukusu, who were preceded in the country around Mt. Elgon by “Nilo-Hamites” as is evident from place-names such

as Kakamega, Kaimosi, Bungoma, Elgon, etc. which are Kalenjin.2’ But by the 18th century, the “Nilo-Hamites” were represented in the area only by small groups such as the Elkony (Sabaot), the Abalako (Pok) and the Bangomek (Bangoma), who appear to have been remnants of a much larger cluster of Kalenjin peoples

that had migrated southwards. These “Nilo-Hamitic” remnants were driven to the slopes of Mt. Elgon by the more powerful and numerous Bantu groups. And lastly, in the second half of the 19th century, we had the last Bantu immigrants from the Samia-Bugwe area of modern Uganda such as the Khayo, Marach and Holo. Although it is difficult to be definite about the precise dates of the arrival of the different Luyia tribes, it is, however, clear that different groups arrived at different times. Furthermore, only 24. Were, G.S., op. cit., pp. 60-87. 25. c.f. Whiteley, W. H., The Tense System of the Gusii' (1960), pp. 1-2,

estimates that the Gusii reached their homes between 14 and 18 generations ago, having left the Maragoli in their present homes.

Note that, culturally, the Maragoli are Luyia; linguistically they are 26. Barker, E. E.: A Short History of Nyanza, Nairob! (1958), pp. 2-4. 27. The name Kalenjin includes the closely related Sebei, Kony, Bongomek, Nandi, Kipsigis, Terik, etc.

The First Luo Settlers in Nyanza 14] the earliest group seems to have preceded the Luo in Nyanza; but even in their case there does not appear to have been much contact between them and the Luo until the 19th century. On the other hand, there were other pre~Luo Bantu groups, most of whom do not form part of the Luyia cluster today. The Kagwa who live in Asembo and Uyoma and who have been assimilated by the Luo,?® the Kanyibule (alias Wayubu) who live

in Rusinga,??7 and the Waturi (also known as the Jo-Ulowa in some parts of Nyanza), and who claim to have been the original owners of Usenge Hill in Kadimo where the first Luo immigrants settled®> — all these Bantu peoples and several other smaller groups preceded the Luo in Central Nyanza.

As we shall show in subsequent chapters, most of these Bantu groups migrated to South Nyanza, and thence to Tanzania.

Others remained in Kenya and in some cases returned to their old homes on sufferance. They have all been assimilated completely by the Luo.

These is also traditional evidence to show that parts of modern Luo homes were formerly occupied by “Nilo-Hamites.” The Nyang’ori (Terik)®! who live in western Kenya, and who are related to the Nandi, were occupying parts of Kadimo location

when the Luo arrived. Luo tradition also maintains that they were preceded in the lakeshore region of Central Nyanza by 28. Luo Historical Texts, Vol. II pp. 28-29; 56. 29. ibid., p. 56. 30. ibid., p. 56. 31. Luo Historical Texts, Vol. I, pp. 79, 245. According to Luo traditions recorded by Major B. W. Bond, D. C. Central Nyanza (see Kenya Land Commission Report: Evidence and Memoranda, Vol. 3, pp. 2282-2283), “the Nyang’ori were the only people occupying the lake-

shore area, around Kadimo, when the first vanguard of Luo migrants arrived. They (Nyang’ori) were pastoralists, and were driven eastwards by the Luo, though not into their present country until much later.” It has even been suggested that the name “Nyang’ori”’ is a pejorative term derived from the Luo word “Ngoro’”’ which means “coward” — see Huntingford, G. W. B.: Nandi-Work and Cul-

ture, Colonial Research Studies, No. 4 (1950), p. 5. J. E. G. Sutton

has, however, pointed out that the Nyang’ori seem to comprise several Kalenjin elements from different directions, not only that from the Lake shore (personal communication).

142 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO some Masai groups.** For example, tradition maintains that the

Kamagambo and the Kakraw folk who live in South Nyanza were originally Jo-Sewe (Masai), and that they accompanied the Luo from Central Nyanza. It is thus clear that the picture of Luo immigrants dislodging the “Bantu Kavirondo” from the lakeshore, and the latter retreat-

ing eastwards to occupy the higher and wetter regions, is too simplified. True, the pre-Luo dwellers of Nyanza comprised both Bantu and “Nilo-Hamitic” elements. But it would be incorrect, as we have attempted to show, to identify the Bantu elements with the present Luyia folk. It is also difficult to give precise information concerning the relation between the Bantu and “Nilo-Hamites” mentioned as being settled in Nyanza before the Luo. Nor do we know much about the kind of cultures they possessed. But we can nonetheless infer that these pre-Luo inhabitants of the region did not possess higher cultures for, physical influences apart, they do not seem to have influenced the Luo culturally. In fact, in most cases, they have adopted Luo culture and language.

The Joka-Jok Strictly speaking, the history of the Kenya Luo begins only with their settlement in Nyanza, because prior to that there was no single tribe called ‘“Jo-Luo”. But Luo historical traditions offer

us narratives which take us back to the very beginning of the world. We are told that all Luo have descended from a common eponym—a claim which has caused the false belief that all I.uo are “Jo-Ramogi” (i. e. “descendants of Ramogi’’). Elaborate genea-

logies have been produced to prove the common origin of the Luo.?3 Names such as Jok, Podho, Sinakuru, and Twaifo, which appear to be mythological figures, are indiscriminately attached to clan genealogies. Jok, for instance, in Nilotic parlance means 32. Luo Historical Texts, Vol. I, p. 35. It is difficult to argue for Masai in this region before the 17th or 18th century. It is quite possible that the so-called Masai were Kalenjin groups, for the word “Masai”

— who are Kalenjiin.

is loosely used by other tribes for various pastoral groups, e.g. Tatoga

33. See Luo Historical Texts, Vol. I, p. 35.

The First Luo Settlers in Nyanza 143 either God or spirit.4 In Shilluk, “podhi” means “the land of” or “the country of’ and in other Nilotic languages, “podho” means

“to fall down”. It is therefore not unlikely that when Jo-Luo claim Jok as their eponym, they are merely claiming a divine origin—a common claim with most societies. Also it is quite conceivable that originally ‘“podho” meant no more than “the land of the Luo people”. The mother-earth was then later personified into a kind of Adam. In an article entitled “Anthropological Studies in Kavirondo and Nandi’’®> Hobley discussed the origin of the Luo people. He gave three different versions of the “genesis story’ recorded from three different chiefs living about forty miles apart: Ugada Ndiek (he means Ogada Ondiek of Sakwa), Ugada, chief of Korando (Ogada Otiende) and Gori Kogalo (Gor Ogalo, a famous Jabilo or Prophet)—all prominent Luo leaders at the beginning of this

century. In all the three versions, Apodtho (should be Podho) is represented as the Adam of the Luo. The accounts are unanimous on the point that the Luo descended from Podho “who descended from the heavens at Lamogi or Ramogi Hill, a long way north of Uganda; that he died at that place and that one of his sons, Ramogi, came to Nyanza and settled at Ramogi Hill, in Kadimo.”3* Podho is also associated with the introduction of certain food crops such as mtama (millet), simsim and eleusine (traditional Nilotic crops), and of cattle, fowls, spears, shields and fire.

This is nothing but a mythical account of the beginning of Luo society. Names such as Jok and Podho are therefore probably not historical figures, but godlike beings who founded the

Luo tribe. In other words in these myths the Luo, like other folk, are attempting to give their supposed eponym a divine origin. 34. See Ogot, B.A.: ‘The Concept of Jok’, African Studies, XX, 2, 196], 35. Hobley, C. W.: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXII (1903), pp. 324-359.

36. ef. The Pa-Nyimur legend (Crazzolara: The Lwoo, Part II, pp. 210-

212) of Ovaak, the mysterious man who seduced Nyilaak, the daughter of Rwot Kwonga, and had a baby boy with her called Opodho (i.e. “he fell from heaven’’).

144 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN LUO This does not render these myths valueless to the historian. It would appear that, underlying the legendary narratives of the beginning of the world, there is a basis of actual reminiscence.

Reference to another Ramogi Hill in northern Uganda, for example, tends to confirm Crazzolara’s hypothesis that the southern Agoro region was at one time known as Ramogi. Hobley himself was forced to conclude, after listening to those three Luo elders, that “I consider however that there is enough internal evidence to prove that this is a bona fide very ancient genealogy brought down from the Nile Valley by these people when they migrated south”.

If Podho is regarded as the Adam of the Luo, Ramogi features in the traditions as their Abraham. But as we saw in the case of the Padhola,3” this belief that all the Luo are descended from a single eponym is the product of a later age. A closer look at traditional evidence will reveal that different Luo clans arrived separately in Nyanza and at different times. Four major divisions are discernible: 38

(a) The Joka-Jok (b) The Jok’Owiny (c) The Jok’Omolo and (d) A miscellaneous group Comprising the Suba, Sakwa, Asembo, Uyoma and Kano. In this chapter we shall restrict our discussion to the first division only. The Joka-Jok represent the first wave of Luo migration into

Nyanza. ‘The largest of the four Luo diVisions, it comprises the following people: Chwanya (who is regarded as the ancestor of the major lineages in Kanyamwa, Kabuoch, Karungu and Kadem);*? Nyikal and Rado (dominant clans in the modern Seme 37. See Part 2, pp. 66-67. c.f. Evans-Pritchard, op. cit., ‘Luo Tribes and Clans’, pp. 30-31. “... All the main Luo clans ultimately trace their des-

cent from the same mythological names of Podho and Ramogi so that it would be possible to place them all on a single chart of des38. See Luo Historical Texts, Vol. II, pp. 1-4; 46-49. 39. vee Southall, A. W.: Lineage Formation Among the Luo (1952), pp. 14-

The First Luo Settlers in Nyanza 145 Location), Chwonyo, Owidi (Kisumo), Oywa (Nyakach), Julu, and the Seje and Nyajuok clans in Alego. These are the people who claim direct descent from a certain Ramogi — the founder of the first Luo permanent settlement on a hill in Kadimo which

has been named after him (see Map 4 showing Luo clans in Central Nyanza). From where did Ramogi and his followers come? Before we

can answer this difficult question, we should emphasise that names such as Ramogi and his son Jok during this phase of Luo history may be personifications of groups of people. So that

what is important in this connection is not so much whether Ramogi and Jok were the actual ancestors of the Joka-Jok, but rather whether these stories (or legends if you like) are of historical value because they shed light on the early movements of the Luo. The biblical parallel would be that the “Podho phase” of Luo history corresponds to the first eleven chapters of the Book

of Genesis, and the “Ramogi-Jok phase” with the patriarchal stories, as contained in the second section of Genesis, from Chapter

12 to the end of the Book. Our belief or disbelief in the historicity of the Jewish patriarchs does not alter the important fact that what are supposed to be the personal stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph do throw much light on the history of the Israelites during the Exodus and Settlement period. With these preliminary remarks, and without expecting too much detailed historical data from the Luo patriarchal legends, let us now turn to the question of the origin of Joka-Jok. The answer to this question chiefly depends on the identity of the Pajook folk in Acholiland. According to one account, the

Acholi clan of Pajook state that they came from Anuakland about eight to ten generations ago.*° But we are told that between

about one hundred and fifty and two hundred years before the Pari reached Lafon Hill, a big group of Jo-Luo had migrated southwards from the area.*! Crazzolara identifies this large group with the migrating mass who later divided at Pubungu. But “on 46. Crazzolara: The Lwoo, Part II, p. 174. 41. Crazzolara: The Lwoo, Part II, p. 154. 10 Ogot, Luo

nT cm ~~ aN J LR ATHIENO

Win TIERRA, S*: oe) /munumes

fit SS. | ewe gt aetee® pope uvunpo! Dorey an Pane: “SEGA iS os tan“oye TINGARE St ees IONeeonen N.O RST Hertnt U GEN YA Atk or :\MASAT: an 2anOF Pp. & “3: lowoo? Fi RAMBULA ogaANYIKO “aLa a © Te gette “8A! A Aw [. % ,“* “ape ‘ys:ey a&wr \ 55.Usj HO. Ue ,e ‘: °° ©. ee Pa 4,Py“L O° 5owMeee gt pv? Nha w see

: % - 4 > 1S } *i.: Ge ‘ &* PgsPa} was rh i ftoeome \ *+ ‘ ata i & / Prue GS . . 3 t> a; “ : y Y | R 0

: " aA at p ah ad jose

SAF UY CY REMEN EST A Geel + UGENYA? LU —_—

we NS “ON APLDIMMU) i Aa ™ ’ REGEA V- Census orsJyy Pere unum auc” at, 4SL OSE vo goat o: we Nery vp (MAL ANGA ra (~ ~\ Bre OM SES: Sires a ee Aor + ANYIKO Yee CE ER) “ NORTH,Sowe w re, AM 7vLe .eyi vA yi” yeh -- wt iAY, q :}©. Ov Verte eh ae fatSe § 4 Ge et OS op®Oy. syGEM “*DLUMBI , % \WEST “A LEGO™- oe PRG, Asi REMBE™ Af TANbig \%, *' : \era ee wanool“Senne eereee .SF, “ a :Got .Y “¢ ‘ \ reauf aAphieMALUNGA epi on 3 14 ‘y “os (7 ./ ane A’ A o LS | BUSO N ww GA wees \i o8eamBO as?TE Maa, oe ~~~ 1% *e, MARE WYOp) ee } = et id aTWAGA; - :yoo «+ LIHANDA QR ER ANDA : suvaw ?87a=ee EAS hePte... arGU"; f * .: 7JYs ORoo 4 IN URANG A

7 oa i Cee MUR .

L-t} v, \\ par? KAMALAG wa Sr aPROTOS 44 wv fe” a ivgee Se, vs S} 0oy UTH GEM . ] i \ o ~™ oo on Pay te . . *., v Me .. * , ey j we fg RS wy ar m RERA % . GOMBE ; . oan t S ‘,*f B é5\0!i? ry) SY . t yo a© F,) % : aN f™, ™ i*-*\.4oF to Be /; 5;Sen _!a *«ey | re) M Y wo Yo; 4. on + * Rata Na *4 oS ABOM bm‘e, tA 7 tyoO é F || ‘a 4e¢ARANDA yo “-— ' SNYAWITA: 7» iaFad NOD ayYeo, “ey o-. Aa "Aon Oo, “o = «* |‘,n ad -eas : re -aTin O y 'RAMBA 4 ¥en #4 Kata ** ceSs A KW A ae . Ss" € M -E ve} » o\ .. YZ LF KIT MURA TENGes at gp apaROWINO SIGER 0 Ue YY 4 g ° ia * _. fe) " wor

* 4+ 4, ; “ ; o : i" wa x+ ay, fr. A NN women / . ‘12f A, Sswl-£gyM B GERE 0 Yxe (44+ytnasucul + Spe Peg % ‘ : 7 + - we. 8 a \wADINGA 7”awe! OTHANY Oo 'eS + choke oamiae d *. v, ; O.> + ve . fs? a F. 8 . ;+ ) / SoH + NyaGuDa £°°% | LA + us / yi a.t + P vy) o® hs ro : 4fo) "4, + +:Cy Le,

+ ; : Vo ; a ;+Le*oo,. y, * a. . 4, Famed — —_eso + x wv » aa “ ?+ U*¥ O M A a“ ° ; AT Wey “

t~ —_———_—_——_—_ oO — ——o — ~— ‘\ ‘ May an ”

\a “NL”

Luo Clans in Centr

en hd

4 0 4 B 12 16 M..ES

intainal onal boundary $+ + + +

Peowing a: . —: —— -

Oretroct . — —

Clan . , ee Lecgl.on . —_——— =